Reinstatement project director Keith Paterson said he was pleased work on the cathedral was getting underway.

He said the building and frame - which are not connected - were a dramatic reminder of what the city went through during the Christchurch earthquakes.

It was important people saw the project was progressing.

Once the frame and rubble are removed, it would be possible to get a closer look at that part of the building.

This would help decide what needed to be done next.

Sections of a 90-tonne crane essential for the frame's removal arrived on-site on Thursday.

Two cranes will be used to remove the rubble: one will have workers in a basket, while the other will use straps to carefully lift out pieces of rubble.

Paterson said some of the stonework was heritage material, so would need to be moved carefully before being documented and catalogued for the future.

He said the work signalled the end of the tidying up of the site, ready for the next stage to begin, although it was too early to put a realistic timeframe on how long the cathedral's restoration would take.

Paterson is an engineer with more than 30 years' experience. In November he was employed by Christ Church Cathedral Reinstatement Limited (CCRL) as the Project Director for the reinstatement of Christchurch Anglican Cathedral.

He has worked for Beca from 1986 until recently in a variety of roles both in New Zealand and offshore.

He oversaw the firm's Canterbury rebuild projects and says the Cathedral project is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

CCRL is the charitable company set up to lead the reinstatement project.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• scoop.co.nz
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A spokesman for Woods said she "does not have the power to intervene as the rules under the Christchurch District Plan govern and enable the demolition of the Catholic basilica."

"The replacement district plan process undertaken by the Christchurch City Council was robust, including the appointment of an independent hearings panel," he said.

"The panel considered a significant amount of evidence in relation to the demolition of the Catholic basilica before making the decisions which were notified to the council and implemented in the operative Christchurch district plan."

The diocese of Christchurch was granted a section 38 notice in August 2015 for the demolition of the earthquake-damaged basilica.

A section 38 notice allows a building owner to demolish without resource consent.

The notices were granted after the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes so that damaged and dangerous buildings could be cleared more quickly.

Council head of resource consents, John Higgins, said consent would not be required by the Catholic church for demolition if the section 38 notice was valid.

A spokesman for Land Information New Zealand confirmed the section 38 notice for the cathedral was still valid, but was subject to some conditions like providing a detailed demolition plan.

Paul Martin, the Catholic bishop of Christchurch recently announced three possibilities for the earthquake-damaged basilica.

One of the options is to demolish the existing building and build a Cathedral on a new site.

A decision on the future of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Christchurch has been delayed to March or April next year.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
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A spokesman for Woods said last Wednesday that formal advice on whether she could intervene to prevent demolition under a section 38 notice could be with the minister in about two days.

The church was granted a section 38 notice in August 2015 in order to partially deconstruct the earthquake-damaged cathedral.

A section 38 notice allows a building owner to demolish without resource consent.

The notices were granted after the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes so that damaged and dangerous buildings could be cleared more quickly.

The Catholic bishop of Christchurch, Paul Martin, said last week the 113-year-old Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament could be demolished under emergency powers granted to the church in 2015.

The church originally applied for the section 38 notice so they could accelerate plans to deconstruct most of the cathedral, but retain and restore the building's main space if possible.

But Martin is now considering three options. One of the options is to demolish the cathedral and build afresh on a new site.

A spokesman for Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) confirmed the section 38 notice for the cathedral was still valid, but was subject to some conditions like providing a detailed demolition plan.

In May, Martin cast doubt on the $105 million restoration budget.

"If we got it for $105m it would be a miracle," he said.

At that time he questioned the morality of fundraising $70m for the project when it could be spent on programmes like low-cost housing.

Woods attended high school at Catholic Cathedral College and has a PhD in history from the University of Canterbury.

She was a member of the Progressive Party from 1999 to 2007 and was involved in several of Jim Anderton's re-election campaigns.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• wikipedia.org
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The 130-year-old brick building has a Category A heritage rating, the highest possible.

It is said by heritage architects to be Auckland inner-city's oldest continually-occupied residence.

An Auckland diocese spokeswoman told the New Zealand Herald last week: "The land on which the Cathedral of St Patrick and St Joseph stands in Wyndham St was granted to Bishop Pompallier by Governor Hobson on June 1, 1841.

The adjacent land where the St Patrick's presbytery stands was purchased some years later by [a] parishioner."

The Presbytery was built in 1888 to an Edward Mahoney design and has served as home to the Cathedral priests for the past 125 years.

Only superficial changes have been made to the building since it was constructed, its heritage listing shows.

It is an earthquake-prone building with its brittle bricks and sea-sand mortar, the roof leaks and the paintwork require attention.

Documents lodged with Auckland Council showed the Hobson St boundary retaining wall will be strengthened, and an outbuilding beside the presbytery will be demolished.

Trenches will be dug for new utilities from Wyndham St, sub-floor ventilation will be improved, and a brick boundary wall built in 1957 to the east will be removed.

Paving from St Patrick's Square will be extended and a 1970s carport will be demolished, along with a trellis wall.

Inside, lowered or false ceilings will be removed, the kitchen extended, a new bathroom and pantry built and plywood diaphragms installed on ground and level one ceilings for seismic strengthening, according to the documents.

Gregory Shanahan, a lawyer and Cathedral Centre Board chairman said they have raised all the funds required to meet the costs of the project.

He said the works are programmed to be finished in June next year.

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• stpatsappeal.org.nz
• Image: aucklandcatholic.org.nz

The Colombo St chapel was built by the Sisters of Mercy in 1911, and shared a site with the convent and St Mary's College.

The Christchurch City Council has owned the building since the mid-1990s and budgeted $2.5 million for the repair. Read more

The diocese has about $30m from insurance but the total cost of a complete restoration is estimated to be in the region of $100 million.

That leaves about $70m to be obtained from fund-raising.

Martin has questioned the morality of using that amount of money on restoring the Cathedral when it could be spent on programmes like low-cost housing.

"Do we really want to ask people for $70m plus for the church? ... It is a lot of money."

"We are trying to make sure it's not just about buildings, but it is about people as well."

Martin said he wanted more information before making a final decision.

"The decision to be made is: do we restore it and what will that cost? Or do we say it was the nicest Catholic church in the country but it's too badly damaged and will cost too much to restore and we'll start again?" he said.

Martin is exploring other options, including building a new cathedral on a more central Christchurch site.

He plans to ask architects to draw up concepts for what a new cathedral might look like on a $40m budget.

The bishop said he thought a lot of people never went into the cathedral because they did not walk past it.

"We want the church to be part of the life of the city and say 'come in'. If you are further out people only go there deliberately rather than pop in like they may have done with the Anglican cathedral."

"Just because we have been on Barbadoes St for 100 plus years it doesn't mean that we have to be there for the next 100. We could look at other places if they are seen as desirable."

Dr Anna Crighton of the Christchurch Heritage Trust said Martin's reconsideration on the cathedral was a "turnaround".

"I think there would be a lot of people out there that would be concerned about that," she said.

"All we can do is hope that he will honour the past decision that it would be restored."

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

A government-appointed working party has been trying to decided the fate of the building and its report, which is due out shortly, is expected to support restoring the cathedral.

Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Nicky Wagner say she is "deeply disappointed" that the decision had been postponed again.

She said that the city urgently needed "some kind of hope of a solution" to what she called a horribly divisive issue. "and we were hoping for a breakthrough."

To try to break the deadlock, 11 months ago a government-appointed working group met for the first time.

Wagner said the group has reached a conclusion, but would not say what it was, or when the report would be released.

In the letter, read out in all the churches in the Christchurch Anglican diocese, Matthews said a survey undertaken by the church found the public was "still divided" over rebuilding the cathedral or building an "inspirational and fit for purpose" contemporary cathedral, Matthews said, but the church and "a majority" of the Church Property Trust wanted the latter.

The synod is a 225-member governing body that includes elected parishioners, priests and youth representatives from the diocese. It is not known if the decision would require a unanimous vote or majority one.

Church property trustees includes National Party Canterbury-Westland chairman Roger Bridge, Deloitte New Zealand partner Steve Wakefield, former Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority boss Roger Sutton, law lecturer Moka Ritchie, civil engineer Bruce Deam, retired equine vet Corin Murfitt and Colliers director Gary Sellars.

The working party comprises of Christchurch developer Alasdair Cassels, former Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority general manager Steve Wakefield, National Party regional chair Roger Bridge, former NZ Transport Agency head Geoff Dangerfield and academic Sue McKenzie.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• radionz.co.nz
• Image: anglicantaonga/resources.stuff.co.nz

On Friday Brownlee said he was disappointed an offer to help with the restoration of the Anglican Cathedral in Christchurch was turned down by the Church Property Trustees (CPT).

He said the offer was made up of $10m in cash and a $15m loan.

The Bishop says Brownlee's claims of a $25 million offer of Government help are incorrect.

"CPT reached an agreement with mandated Crown negotiators including the Christchurch working group chairman Geoff Dangerfield . . . before Christmas," Matthews said on Sunday.

"That agreement, to CPT's surprise, proved not acceptable to the minister and at the last minute a two page, non-binding, principles document was sent through to the negotiating table."

"This two page statement of principles significantly changed the terms in ways that were not acceptable to CPT as prudent trustees, with $42 million to put towards an over $100 million project."

On Friday Brownlee had said a second government had made a offer with different terms.

He understood the CPT would be meeting this week to discuss the second offer.

However Matthews said there had been very limited informal discussion.

"A revised two page statement of principles, which is non-binding and which I believe has not been seen by Cabinet, arrived this week."

"But it was not presented by the Minister, nor did we have assurance he was in favour of every aspect of it," Matthews said.

On Friday the church said CPT has no scheduled meeting this week.

The church says a decision over the Cathedral's fate will be out in the next six months.

The cathedral has been derelict for almost six years since the February 2011 quake, with parties at an impasse on whether to demolish or to attempt restoration.

The government set up a working group to look at options for restoration, but no deal has so far been reached.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• radionz.c0.nz
• Image: resources.stuff.co.nz

The Catholic Diocese got the green light to bowl the 1939 convent and hostel in a 2014 Environment Court decision, and a passionate group of locals has been trying to save it since then.

It's only a matter of time before Euphrasie House is progressively demolished, Hamilton Diocese's Graeme Roil said, though a start date hasn't been set yet. Continue reading

The St James Presbyterian Church building was listed for sale on Trade Me. The auction closed shortly after 11am when the church sold for $11,100 from a total of 115 bids.

The church, made of heart rimu, was built in 1905 but has not been used since 2012 when an engineer's report found it only had 8 per cent of the strength of buildings built to the current earthquake safety standard but it is listed as a heritage building so it can't be knocked down. Continue reading

However, an adjoining building, St Mary's Chapel, will be preserved and strengthen.

The chapel was built for the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, a congregation of mission and teaching nuns. The sisters lived in Euphrasie House.

With a budget of $1 million, the conservation comprises two stages.

First Stage

The first stages will cost $6000.00. It will by funded by donations:

• The corridor connecting the chapel to Euphrasie House will be demolished
• The chapel earthquake strengthened
• External architectural work will be carried out
• A new electrical power supply installed.
• The statues in the chapel will be restored

Second Stage

The remaining $400,000 is dependent on ongoing fund-raising, with a suggested time frame for stage two to begin in October and completed by December 2016.

So far the corridor link has been disconnected and excavation work is completed.

Construction of new concrete foundations have begun and the outer skin of existing brick-wall panels has been removed, ready for new reinforced concrete wall panels.

Sister Mary-Ellen O'Sullivan, Sister Barbara Cameron, Sister Colleen Morey and Sister Raewyn Hogan all still live nearby and have fond memories of the chapel.

They are all glad to see the chapel restored.

"Especially for the purpose for which they are going to renovate it: to keep it traditional but to give people a contemplative space in the city," Sister Barbara said.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz

Island Residents association president Vicki Greco said people were generally happy with the design and the chapel restoration while concerns around stress on schools and infrastructure were seen as surmountable. Continue reading

The plan is part of a proposed $30 million 94-townhouse development.

Councillor Andy Foster, chairman of the transport and urban development committee, said early estimates that put the costs of the houses between $500,000 and $700,000 might appeal to first-home buyers.

Previous owners of the Erskine site, the Hibernian Catholic Benefit Society put forward a plan to build and sell houses for under $1000,000 and also to preserve the grounds and save the chapel says a former manager of the Hibernians in a letter to the editor in Saturday's DomPost.

He asks why Foster opposed that plan.

Councillor Nichola Young, who is an alumna of Erskine College, when asked to comment said that because of the the earthquakes in Christchurch, "seismic issues very different now."

The Erskine complex was purchased by the Hibernians in 1986.

They parcelled off land around the edges of the site and sold it for residential housing.

The Hibernian Society planned to eventually develop the Erskine site as a retirement village.

In 1992, however, the Hibernian Society submitted an application for resource consent to strengthen the chapel walls, which would be needed if the other part of the proposed work was carried out: the demolition of the main convent building.

This proposal stirred up a huge amount of feeling amongst the community. and gave rise to the formation of the Save Erskine College Trust.

Read more about this

Reaction to the present proposal.

In response to an inquiry the Save Erskine College Trust Inc said, " a general statement will be made via our website and/or Facebook in due course"

Island Bay Residents Association president Vicki Greco said the association was pleased the Cassels' company had decided to make plans available.

It would allow the community to talk about any issues that arose around the plans she said.

Heritage NZ central region general manager Claire Craig said the organisation hoped to maintain a "constructive dialogue" with Cassels about his proposal.

"We also look forward to hearing the views that the council, as decision maker, receives as feedback from the community on the proposal for the chapel and the removal of the main building."

A council spokesman said it received a formal application for the development only last week.

"Our planners still have several weeks in which to consider the application - which is complex. If consent is given, then the developer will have 12 months to get the project under way."

The Erskine College site was declared a special housing area in April 2015.

The 2013 Housing Accords and Special Housing Areas Act stipulates a streamlined consenting timeframe, including a reduction in notification provisions and appeal rights.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
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Prior to this announcement Ernest Duval was reported as saying,"Christchurch is an oddball place. The heavens open and there are these great announcements and then there is nothing. It is like the cone of silence and no one will talk to you,"

Duval, a developer, is City Owners Rebuild Entity chairman.

He said developers and landowners in Cathedral Square are waiting on a cathedral decision before starting to build.

He is of the opinion that the lack of action after the Government announcement last December has eroded trust in its rebuild leadership.

"It is like the boy who cried wolf."

Duval said the six-month wait for any news on how the Government intended to break the deadlock over the derelict cathedral was frustrating.

The Mediator

The Government last year appointed mediator Miriam Dean, QC, in an attempt to break the deadlock over the building. Anglican leaders had decided to demolish the cathedral. They planned to replace it with a modern building but those plans were caught up in legal challenges.

In December Church leaders and the Government announced that reinstating the cathedral was being considered. Campaigners expected announcement on how the deadlock would be resolved in April.

The Working Party

Now there is a further delay as the newly appointed working party has been asked to make its recommendation for the cathedral by November 28 and provide a report to the Government and church trustees by December 7.

The working party was formed last month, but announced this week by Greater Christchurch Regeneration Minister Gerry Brownlee.

The working party comprises of high profile Christchurch developer Alasdair Cassels, the man behind The Tannery shopping centre in Woolston, former Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority general manager Steve Wakefield, National Party regional chair Roger Bridge, former NZ Transport Agency head Geoff Dangerfield, and academic Sue McKenzie.

Developers continue to wait

Speaking before the announcement of the working party Duval said credence in statements has been diminished. "People wait for the hoardings to go up and the equipment to appear on site before they believe it. There is a loss of trust."

"It is very frustrating, but many people have just accepted that this is the new normal for Christchurch. You get these big statements, but there is no follow through."

Another property developer Miles Yeoman, said the his development plans were on hold. He owns the former Press building site in Cathedral Square. He says he had shelved hotel plans for now because there was not enough activity in the "barren wasteland" square.

And Canterbury Employers' Chamber of Commerce chief executive Peter Townsend said recently announced plans for the convention centre made it more important to resolve the cathedral deadlock.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
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The money is coming from the Lottery Grants Board's World War One commemorations environment and heritage committee.

Work on the historic building is expected to start this summer.

The news has brought joy to heritage advocates, as it means one of the city's more important buildings will now get its roof weatherproofed, thereby making the building ready for redevelopment. Continue reading

The situation in Hamilton raises an issue that is becoming a problem for church communities throughout New Zealand - the custodianship of heritage buildings from another era that are no longer fit for use by faith communities living in the present era.

Cathedral administrator Father Richard Laurenson said the presbytery is in a poor state and no longer appropriate for today's use.

"There are cracks all over the building and the mortar is falling out from between the bricks," he said.

"I was talking last Wednesday to some of our priests who have lived in the presbytery," Laurenson said in his recent newsletter.

"No one told me that they loved living in the house."

"It was designed by religious priests of the Benedictine variety to live in according to their ways, incorporating room for stables, wharepaku and copper at the back of the property."

"Since then much has changed in Hamilton, but the house firmly remained unchangeable, in spite of a myriad of attempts to improve it."

Laurenson said an historic photographic record has been taken of the house.

Plans are in place to salvage items like woodwork, flooring, fireplaces, stairs and they will be incorporated into the new home.

The presbytery is the oldest surviving building within the city's Catholic precinct in Hamilton East.

It was opened in 1912, the same year as the old St Mary's Church.

The Church was demolished in 1974.

The Hamilton diocese has already gained approval to demolish the nearby Euphrasie House which was built in 1939.

The request to demolish the brick and cement building was made by the Parish Council and approved by Bishop Stephen Lowe.

An architectural historian, Dr Ann McEwan, said the presbytery was a significant heritage building and had retained a high level of authenticity.

"If it goes, it's just another building in Hamilton East to disappear and the loss of it will erode that character people go to a great deal of length to protect," McEwan said.

McEwan said the presbytery wasn't on the schedule of heritage buildings in the council's District Plan and therefore wasn't afforded any formal protection.

"If the Hamilton City Council had added new items to its District Plan heritage schedule, instead of just rolling it over, then the presbytery could have been added."

"Ultimately the council can take credit for not funding the District Plan review to a level that new items could have been added," she said.

Source

• saintmatthews.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
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Old St Paul's church will mark 150 years since its consecration, as well as the 50th anniversary since being bought by the Holyoake government. Continue reading

The Christchurch diocese has 13 heritage churches in Canterbury and Westland closed because of earthquake damage.

The diocese believed the churches in Rangiora and Pleasant Point were beyond repair, but after advice from international architectural expert James McCrery, it will investigate retaining large parts of both.

The Pleasant Point church is a heritage two building. The Rangiora church is protected under the district plan.

Keith Beal, property manager for the Christchurch diocese, said McCrery had painted a more positive future for the churches.

"In Rangiora, we are going to investigate further the condition of the church to see if the option of remodelling is viable. If so this could retain much of the existing heritage," he said.

Issues at the Pleasant Point church arose from its bell tower, which was added after its construction without proper strengthening of the ground beneath.

The diocese would consider replacing the bell tower and keeping much of the church intact.

"The parish is seriously considering the option to incorporate significant parts of the existing church into a new design."

Other non heritage churches are expected to reopen shortly.

St Anne's Church in Woolston has opened again after it was closed in February 2011 due to earthquake issues.

The temporary works just completed focussed on strengthening of the rear wall, narthex and improving connections between the roof and main structure.

The original tower was removed after the earthquakes for safety and the area beneath has been made good with the placement of the cross where the tower previously stood.

St Peter's, Beckenham which will open on the Feast of Christ the King, on November 21.

St Matthew's, Bryndwr, could be open by early December.

A contract has just been let to replace two-thirds of the roof and add reinforcement around the walls to Our Lady of Assumption, Hoon Hay. It is expected to be open for Christmas.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• chch.catholic.org.nz
• Image: stuff.co.nz